ARTICLE 50. Prohibition Against Deceptive Sales Acts or Practices ­ A deceptive act or practice by a seller or supplier in connection with a consumer transaction violates this Act whether it occurs before, during or after the transaction. An act or practice shall be deemed deceptive whenever the producer, manufacturer, supplier or seller, through concealment, false representation of fraudulent manipulation, induces a consumer to enter into a sales or lease transaction of any consumer product or service.

ARTICLE 52. Unfair or Unconscionable Sales Act or Practice ­ An unfair or unconscionable sales act or practice by a seller or supplier in connection with a consumer transaction violates this Chapter whether it occurs before, during or after the consumer transaction. An act or practice shall be deemed unfair or uncionscionable whenever the producer, manufacturer, distributor, supplier or seller, by taking advantage of the consumer’s physical or mental infirmity, ignorance, illiteracy, lack of time or the general conditions of the environment or surroundings, induces the consumer to enter into a sales or lease transaction Grossly inimical to the interests of the consumer or gross one­sided in favor of the producer, manufacturer, distributor, supplier or seller.

a) that the producer, manufacturer, distributor, supplier or seller took advantage of the inability of the consumer to reasonable protect his interest because of his inability to understand the language of an agreement, or similar factors

ARTICLE 81. Price Tag Requirement ­ It shall be unlawful to offer any consumer product for retail sale to the public without an appropriate price tag, label or marking publicly displayed to indicate the price
of each article and said products shall not be sold at a price higher than that stated therein and without discrimination to all buyers:

Provided, That lumber sold, displayed or offered for sale to the public shall be tagged or labeled by indicating thereon the price and the corresponding official name of the wood:

Provided, further, That if consumer products for sale are too small or the nature of which makes it impractical to place a price tag thereon price list placed at the nearest point where the products are
displayed indicating the retail price of the same may suffice.

ARTICLE 82. Manner of Placing Price Tags ­ Price tags, labels or markings must be written clearly, indicating the price of the consumer product per unit is pesos and centavos.

Dagdag po dito, nais ko rin ireklamo ang AOWA Electronics sa ilalim ng Department of Trade and Industry Department Administrative Order NO. 10 Series of 2006. SUBJECT: Reiterating the Rules on Price Tags/Labels and Providing Prohibition Against the Imposition of a Surcharge, Extra Charge or Additional Charge in the Use of Credit/Automated Teller Machine (ATM)/Debit Cards for Payment of Purchases of Consumer Products or Services.

Section 2. One Price Tag Requirement. Every retailer is required to display a price tag to indicate the price of each consumer good and/or services, as required in Articles 81 to 83 of the Consumer Act of the Philippines or R.A. No. 7394. The price tag must be written clearly, indicating the price of the consumer product including Value Added Tax (VAT) whenever the consumer product is VATABLE. Service charge, if any, shall not be included in the price tag.

Thanks a lot I’ve read your complaints on this scam.I myself have the same predicament. Only now I know when my vacuum cleaner was out of order and I was looking for their office for repair of the said item.I’ve been calling all of their phone nos.but to no avail until I opened up the internet and looked for their contact.To my surprised, I saw your blog that the said office was already padlocked!Another scam!What the letter-sender-complainant (w/o publishing her name)mentioned,the same scenario happened to me.The money involved was P80,600.00,but even though,it is still a big amount and the said items are still here with me.I’m not using them because I still have other items of another brands that I’m using.The supervisor who attended to me was JAY DEADIO (WITH CP # 0917 8531610) and RENIEL SEVILLA.I just hope my comment will also serve as reminder for consumers to be careful when purchasing products.Better go and buy at stores of reputations.

thanks for posting your own experiences. I added the “hoffman” tag so that other people can search and read this post.

If you have been scammed by these companies, I urge you to write a similar letter to DTI (you are free to copy-paste relevant sections of our letter). Always furnish a copy to the credit card company and the AOWA/Hoffman office. Make sure that all those whom you furnished the letter knows that you sent the letter to DTI.

Last June 16-20,2010, I happened to go at World Trade Center from an invitation of my daughter. I was a little bit hesitant to go but she told me that there are many exhibitions of different foods and drinks supplies and appliances. I was thinking,what if I see AOWA there? I really did not get the mistake. The same people plying their trade!The same appliances with a different name and different company, but all are the same even the packaging.They were surprised when they saw me, but trying to be nice because there were so many customers again they were trying to fool! I talked to them but it seemed everybody was trying to avoid me. I got their contact nos. but when I was calling them,their celfons are only ringing.The name of the company is WHIZMART TRADING.I thought AOWA is already padlocked,how come their products are still in the market,with the same people selling,same faces,with only different packaging? Can somebody from the DTI do something about this scam? Please help, I pity those who are preyed.Try to check for some expositions, for sure they must be there.thanks

Thanks Ms Lorna Liu posting your comment and revealing the name WHIZMART TRADING. I will try to look for their whereabout and get in touch with them and pretend that I am interested buyer to have connection with them while making a game plan.

To all the victims of AOWA product are you willing to cooperate? Ones and for all, our aim is to return the item and bring our money back. We will all file one compliant letter to DTI (and seek help) attatched with our own statement with photo copy of whatever supporting docs you have.

DTI-NCR Filed 40 Admin Cases in 1Q 2010
For the first quarter of the year, the Department of Trade and Industry-National Capital Region (DTI-NCR) has filed forty administrative cases against businesses found violating fair trade laws (FTLs). These include the Consumer Act of the Philippines (RA 7394); Price Act (RA 7581); Standards Law (RA 4109) and PD 1572, a law which provides for the accreditation of service and repair shops.

“These efforts, aside from protecting consumer welfare, are done to weed out businesses that do not play within the rules of the game.” Assistant Secretary Angel Pelayo said.

Respondents of said administrative cases filed by the regional office include Arysta Marketing, Green Top Marketing and Hoffman Marketing. The three were charged with violation of Articles 50 and 52 of the Consumer Act of the Philippines pertaining to unfair or unconscionable sales act practice by a seller.

As narrated in the numerous consumer complaints against erring establishments, representatives from Arysta, Green Top and Hoffman Marketing lure potential customers to believe that they have won a gift or prize, when the subject product is not in fact a “gift.” Target customers are in fact required to purchase an additional exorbitantly-priced item to receive said “gift”. Preventive Measure Orders have been issued by DTI-NCR prohibiting the three companies from employing said deceptive marketing scheme.

Other administrative cases involve infringement of the Standards Law and related Department Administrative Orders.

Huma Corporation, a distributor of ceramic tiles, was formally charged for distributing its products prior to the issuance of an Import Commodity Clearance (ICC).

Similarly Midway Road Trading, an importer of cement products, violated the terms of the DTI Conditional Release, wherein it is stipulated that products should not be transferred in whole or in part pending issuance of the ICC. Furthermore, the cement products found inside the respondent’s warehouse had a brand different than what was declared by the company.

DTI-NCR is working with the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) regarding this specific case.

“The most effective way to stop the proliferation of these deceptive practices and illegal trade practices is through an informed citizenry. Consumers should remember that the best deterrent and sanction to these unscrupulous business entities: zero sale in their cash register,” Asec. Pelayo ended.

“These efforts, aside from protecting consumer welfare, are done to weed out businesses that do not play within the rules of the game.” Assistant Secretary Angel Pelayo said.

For consumer-related inquiries and complaints, the public can call DTI-Direct 751-3330.

same thing happened from us, just today at around 10:30am 10 nov.2010 me and my wife walking inside at trinoma ground floor and suddenly a gay agent approach us regarding their hoffmann induction cooker…first he was only asking us to hear they product demo and lately they want us to show our credit card but my wife insisted and told them she left it at home..then they kept forcing us to go with us at home to see the credit card,thats the time
i think they had a bad intension and told them that we are not interested to their pruduct and went home to look to the internet the prize of the hoffmann induction cooker..upon searching i saw a lot of complain letter from them telling it was a scam…
they must stop i knew their still at trinoma looking for more victims…to the authorities pls.pay attention………….

hi..i also purchased it..i didn’t know that it was a scam..until now I’m still paying it.can I still cancel the transaction from the credit card?I still have a balance worth around 20k.can i still do that?please help me..

Hoffman recently put up a kiosk at Promenade Greenhills, we were only interested with the Induction Cooker sana. Then they were already pressuring us to buy (sabi nila last day na nila sa Greenhills) but then they were still there a week after we saw them. Kung ano anong trickery talaga ginagamit nila to sell their products.

i also had a bad experienced, just today, i went back to robinson galeria, to claim my payments of 79,900, i reported it to the security of robinson, the manager of hoffmann promised to return my payment tomorrow at 10:30 am, if you want to go there at robinson galeria at security office, sabay sabay tayo mag complaint, i file a complaint already today at 7:30 pm

To all those who were so called “victimized” by these companies, I emphatize with you…I too bought their products years ago but tell you what, I don’t feel “victimized” at all. Allow me to explain…to me, victimized is when I didn’t get to bring home any of the products after paying for it. I assume from what the comments I’ve read that most of you did. In fact, I was able to get 5 items in addition to what I have originally bought & have been using it for years now & i think that it’s not so bad a deal to have. So far, I’m making use of the full benefit of the items wc I bought simply because I don’t want my hard-earned money go to waste.

Sometimes, it’s easy for us pass judgement wc is understandable..but let’s look at it at another angle, at least we get to bring home what we have paid for in the first place. Whether we’d like to make use of its full potential is up to us..

Why I’m sharing this to the rest of you is to somehow give you another perspective that there are also satisfied customers like me – maybe not exactly with the manner it was sold but with the funtionality and durability of the products involved.

Again, just sharing my thoughts & I have no prejudice against those who decide to pursue a case against these companies…

i have been approached many times by sales agents of aowa in big department stores, but each time, i refuse to be carried away by their sweet talk. the main reason is that i find the offer too good to be true, and if an offer is too good to be true (what company would want to have huge losses by giving away so many free items?), perhaps it is not true at all. thank God i have been guided by this principle; otherwise i would also have been victimized by this company.

Hello! I was also a victim of the Aowa scam last year in South Supermarket, Balagtas Bulacan. I returned the products the day after I purchased them and demanded for reversal. Because of my complaint, inend ng South Supermaket ang 1-month leasing contract nila with Aowa. I showed them the copy of the DTI memo that they should not be operating anymore. I got a call from their so-called “lawyer” asking me to talk to the management of South to allow them to finish their contract. Super unprofessional ang lawyer kuno nila (with the Visayan accent) at ako pa raw ang kakasuhan nila (I wonder for what grounds kaya since I only returned their products and demanded for reversal). I was firm to say na ayoko makialam kase nagreklamo lang naman ako about their scam and it was the supermarket’s decision to cancel their contract (which wala na po akong kinalaman don). I just tried to search again today about the Aowa scam kase nacurious ako. After 1 year since the incident, regular customer pa rin po naman kami ng supermarket. But today after buying groceries for New Year, ewan kung namamalikmata lang ako but the “Aowa Manager” na kausap ko last year at inaway-away ko ay nakita ko ulet sa South Supermarket. And they are operating again but under a different name. They are selling massage items. Can anyone confirm if Aowa changed their name and product line? From cookware naging massage items na ba? I have a big feeling that it was the same manager. Napatingin pa sya sa kin kanina and biglang binawi ang tingin. And now, after reading this post, I was suprised to see an update that they are operating also in Robinsons, Balagtas Bulacan. Could it be possible na same company talaga ung nasa Robinsons Balagtas and South Supermarket, Balagtas in Bulacan? These people are real scammers!!!

im one of the victim of the said aowa products. ive been bought induction cooker, water purifier, pressure cooker and microwave oven. im not even used that appliance that i was bought last sept 2007…just to know where i can find the service center of induction cooker that was broken the plate..and my purifier was never ever place the filter..and i dont know how to change it.. i was paid 78,000php on that aowa..pls help to find them or the place where i can bring those appliances..thanks for posting..

I do not understand why despite the numerous complaints, DTI has not acted against the illegal sales tactics being utilized by these dishonest, deceitful and devious companies like AOWA, Hoffman, Homesonic, etc.

My mother-in-all got victimized by AOWA 6 years ago. Good thing, I learned about it and was able to stop her from paying the balance after depositing around 5,000. We never got back that amount. It was ok as it could have been worse if she paid the balance. I sent a letter of complaint to DTI but no response from them.

I guess we consumers also are part of the problem because only a few are willing to spend time and money to teach these leeches a lesson.

They are still operating. I just saw one Hoffman store in Robinsons Paco. Their sales “badits” – baklang bandits 🙂 are on the lookout along the hallway looking for an unsuspecting or gullible victim.

I agree to all of you that all of these companies have similar marketing strategies and that they all simply change their names if ever DTI would close their companies. If you really want to put an end to all of these, why not go after the real investors?
Most of the owners of these are foreigners and are using filipinos as dummies for them to have an investment here in our country.
The managers or the sales agents don’t usually tell you their main office, so one should investigate or get a calling card from the manager so you could go directly to their office.
Aowa has operated for a long time and as far as I can remember it just been closed after a lot of complaints and some media that DTI finally closed it down. What happened next? Aowa (owners) just simply change their name and branched out, meaning one company would handle a certain type of product and another company would handle a different product. Great strategy, same marketing plan. So if ever DTI would come after them again, they still have other companies to rely on.
And don’t be fooled that all of these products are in good quality, they are all made in China, where raw materials and labor is cheap.

I was able to return my purchases the following day after reading all these similar experiences. I called american express to stop payment and basically told Hofffman to either reverse the credit and get the pieces back or they’ll end up not being paid by my credit card and I’ll keep all their china made products. Their agreed to just taken back their merchandise and acknowledge receipt.

Additional info though, my credit card is american issued (amex). Amex in the states will normally represent their customers against deceptive people/scammers.

It’s mind boggling; how the Philippine authorities are taking so much time to close these deceptive companies. It ruins FIlipino’s business reputation in and out of the Philippines.

I also don’t understand why Filipinos do that to their fellow countrymen. The blatant practice is incomprehensible. How they are able to sleep after scamming people with hard-earned money (specially in the Philippines) is sickening.

Thank you for posting… I wouldn’t really be able to have enough courage to storm in to Hoffman showroom at MC Home Depot in Ortigas yesterday and demand a reversal of transaction have I not stumbled upon your post last Wednesday and read the comments of people who have also fallen victim of these deceitful merchants. Until I see in my credit card billing statement that all is well (later I will call my card issuers to confirm any progress regarding the reversal), I’m still not 100% at ease…at least now I feel a heavy burden has been liften off my shoulders.

Thank you for posting… I wouldn’t really be able to have enough courage to storm in to Hoffman showroom at MC Home Depot in Ortigas yesterday and demand a reversal of transaction have I not stumbled upon your post last Wednesday and read the comments of people who have also fallen victim of these deceitful merchants. Until I see in my credit card billing statement that all is well (later I will call my card issuers to confirm any progress regarding the reversal), I’m still not 100% at ease…at least now I feel a heavy burden has been lifted off my shoulders.

i search this aowa because i found a receipt dated 2009 that my husband supposedly bought an AOWA GOOD WATER SYSTEM. my husband’s an ofw, and he bought this at Duty Free (!). Wala ako nakita inuwi sya since that date sa bhay ng ganyan item. doubting, i confronted him and he admitted na naloko nga dw sya. that’s the reason why i’m trying to find contacts to this company. gusto ko bawiin ang nakuha samin dhil he paid it in cash. now that i found out this indeed is a scam, where can i file my complain?

for Sasa Hokasa, the technology was really coming from Japan (except for water purifier, that’s from Germany). But they were assembled in China to cut the labor cost. I personally, was given the privilege to visit our branches and quarters in China, Hongkong, Malaysia and Thailand. I saw how they were assembled.

Hi! To Anonymous, I hope you still haven’t paid your credit card bill. We were victimized by them, too..The procedures posted by anonymous on dec. 12, 2011 are the right things to do.If you used your credit card for the purchase, insist on returning the product and let them acknowledge the return. After that, file a dispute transaction with your credit card issuer. We did these steps and thank God, the 69,000 charge was reversed!

Warning to all! Alvano is not a Japan or Korean brand don’t be fooled by them. The appliances that the offered have no warranty and they overprice the item, they make the packaging very nice for the us to believe that it was expensive.
For those who was victimize this is what I can advice you.
1. Ask help from the organizer of the mall or trade fair (I was victimized at Noel Bazaar)check their record what company they are using, who’s the contact person it should be the one who signed the contract of the event. Tip they are using different company so that they can enter the fair.
2. Make a memo stated that you have returned the product and have them signed.
3. Take photos of them as a prove.
4. Make them a written statement that they will revise back the amount to your credit card.
5. Important if use credit card ask for credit memo from them this serve as basis that the money will be returned back to your card.

for all the said complaints…..sana po meron man lang service center na pwedeng magrepair ng AOWA products..kung sinu man po pwedeng may alam..please post the address or contact number if any..thganks and God Bless…

well lahat naman ng mga business has their own marketing strategies., for me its not a scam!! because u have the goods., im one of the satisfied customer of alvano/aowa., and thank god im still enjoying the products!., kahit saang country pa gawa yan., nasa gumagamit lang yan.,

We just received a call from a ASIAN NETWORK DEVELOPMENT CORP. telling us that we just won something from a random selection of telephone numbers. They said that we can pick-up from STAR MALL in GREEN TOP across CYBER POINT. It was fishy because we didn’t join anything that entitles us to win anything. They’re very manipulative. Don’t be fooled.

for all those people saying that the only thing with these companies is the marketing strategy but the products are good, think twice if you think nothing is wrong with that. MISLEADING AT PANLOLOKO PO ANG STRATEGY, wala bang mali don?

Good day to all.i am one of those who posted early this yr re the alvano items i got in what i think was a scam!its been almost a yr, am still using the tv, purifier, ozone sterilizer.. Un induction cooker di pa, pro when meralco said in their bills that induction cooking saves more money then gagamitin ko na induction cooker ko. Early this yr di ko tinantanan research,i found service ctr ng alvano sa may robinsons along edsa, may business permits. To cut short, i rest my case. Naloko ako kasi definitely way overpriced ang items pero its nearly a yr and its still working so moral lesson, be informed and decide intelligently. Hay! 75k gone so enjoy ko n lng mga gamit pro di na ko papagoyo next time! Learned it the painful way, aw!

My wife just board some product from this Anzatex Sdn Bhd. Products are One Aowa Micro Oven, One Alvano Trio Induction Cooker,one Vacum Cleaner for Vacum Pillow & Blanket Only and the other one is Water Purifier. All cost RM2988.00. Their style of promotion is free gift but actually all bought indirectly. The first two may cost more. The other two items cost few hundreds only. I like to have some comment whether the price of these items reasonable or not.

A mall shopper sought the help of the Dumaguete City Police Station, Sunday, claiming that personnel of an appliance center duped her into transacting with them Friday.

Brenda Lee Tumlay, 33, married, and a resident of Barangay Bajumpandan, Dumaguete, said that at around 11:30 a.m. on August 17, she was at the Robinsons Mall in the city to shop for food, when a decent looking man approached and gave her a free pen.

The man told her he worked for Arsons Appliance Center and gave her a demonstration about one of their products. Another center employee then told her she had been chosen as one of the three clients who could avail of a promo package, Tumlay told the police.

She said she was told that she will get five of their products, worth P300,000, for free on condition that she buys an item from the shop.

Tumlay said she tried to resist them, but they eventually managed to swipe P60,000 from her credit card.

The complainant sought the help of the police to assist her in asking the staff of the appliance center to reverse the credit card transaction.